Beneath the mask
by jupiter123
Summary: Now that Link has saved Termina from a horrible fate, he must leave. Yet as he gets to know a beautiful zora woman, he needs to tell her the truth. He also needs to persuade her to come back with him.
1. Unmasked

**Hey there, this is set at the end of Majora's mask, showing the relationship between Lulu and Link. For this story , Termina is in the same world as Hyrule. Link is twelve years old so it's two years after the Ocarina of time.**

He should be celebrating, really he should. He should be preparing to leave victoriously to see his dear princess and tell her how he had saved the day. The carnival had ended on a high note and everyone in clock town knew that it was because of him. He'd finally escaped the time loop. Everyone he helped would remember it and he had even made a close friend.

Link felt lonely.

He'd been happy here, in Termina and it was the thought of leaving that prevented him from being happy. Sure, he was going back to see Princess Zelda, but it wasn't his Zelda. This Zelda didn't remember the other time; the horrible time where Ganon had taken over and Zelda had been in disguise, guiding him. He had told Zelda all about the horrible future but she wasn't quite able to imagine it and she just wasn't the same person he'd known.

Maybe that's why he preferred Termina, here he had taken the time to get to know everyone and had loved helping all of them, they needed him here and he wanted to help them. That was such a difference to Hyrule where he was the hero of a time no one could remember.

Link stood in his Zora form in Mikau's room in Zora hall, pondering his situation. Now that he had saved Termina from being utterly destroyed by the falling moon, he ought to move on and return to Hyrule. He had promised Zelda that he was only going to Termina for the festival and would be back soon. However, he hadn't told Zelda that the reason he left was in the hopes of finding his fairy, Navi. Originally, he had had no interest in the carnival at all.

But in Termina he had found Tatl, the little faerie who could be blunt and inconsiderate at times but was smart and interesting as well. The clock tower here was beautiful and there was nothing like it in Hyrule. Being near the beach was another great thing, Lake Hylia was nothing compared to the coast. He couldn't break his promise to Zelda but leaving would be terrible.

Link was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the door behind him opening. Someone was entering his room, or was it Mikau's room? He turned to face the person who was making leaving so much harder.

'I have to tell her the truth', Link thought, feeling guilty.

"Mikau let's go," Lulu said looking overjoyed about something as she walked in. She grabbed Link's zora arm and he walked with her through Zora hall.

"What are we doing?" He asked her. She looked rather pretty despite having scaly blue-grey skin like all Zoras. And through his Zora eyes she was just beautiful.

"We're going to the observatory to see our children," Lulu said, looking excited by the idea.

For the first time Link realized that Mikau was the father of those eggs he had rescued from the pirates and the sea snakes. Why hadn't he realized this sooner. Now that he thought about it, he was sure that Lulu had mentioned it to him more than once yet he hadn't understood. He should have assumed that was why Mikau had been looking for those eggs yet it hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Right," Link replied, not sure what else to say. Lulu didn't know that he wasn't really Mikau and it would be even harder to tell her the truth now.

Lulu had been wonderful to be around these past few days. Once he'd managed to get her voice back and defeat the monster in the Great bay temple, he'd spent a lot of time talking to her, imitating Mikau. She had turned out to be easy to talk to and they'd had fun talking about the band and the carnival. He was reluctant to tell her about Mikau's death as, now more than ever, he was sure she'd be heartbroken.

They dived into the sea water together, he loved the feel of the cool water on his aquatic skin. Link really loved being a zora in general actually. He got to be taller like an adult again and his fins were natural weapons as well as allowing him to swim like a fish. Using a little magic, he could also create an electric shield around while underwater, which was extremely useful.

Link quickly raced through the water, smiling slightly as Lulu swam behind him. The aquarium soon grew nearer and he shot gracefully out of the water. He landed upon the small wooden platform where he glanced at one of the strange owl statues. He randomly wondered if Lulu could learn the song of soaring as it'd make travelling much easier.

Lulu soon climbed onto the small platform before going up the ladder and opening the door; Link climbed up behind and looked in amazement at the tank. He hadn't seen the tank since before the carnival and the tadpoles (Zoras?) inside had all sprouted legs and were twice at least as big as when they had hatched.

"Wow… Can we… take them?" Lulu asked the man, also impressed with the sight.

"Not for another week at least, it'd be too dangerous for them now," the man said in a knowing voice. Link watched Lulu's face closely, she appeared slightly annoyed at speaking to the man, could that be because she hated humans?

Lulu simply nodded in reply and turned to Link, "Ready to name them?"

Link looked down at this and resolved to tell her the truth, not for the first time, "Not now, once they're out of this tank?" He though sounded like he was begging to her; begging for more time, but couldn't name her children.

Fortunately, she didn't appear too annoyed and nodded again, before turning back to stare at the young zoras. Link stood next to her and she gripped his hand tightly. They stood there in silence, Link trying hard to stop worrying and to just enjoy the moment. Lulu seemed happy at least.

They left soon after, planning to come again in seven days. It was as they left that Link spotted Mikau's grave in the distance and froze. "Lulu wait," he said.

"Mikau?" She said, turning to him.

"A few days ago the pirates stole your eggs and Mikau tried to get them back, but he couldn't" Link said tonelessly. How did he say this?

"You got them all back eventually and that was incredible," Lulu replied in a tone of reassurance and gratitude.

Link didn't know how to continue but he tried, "No. There was a boy who came to Termina from a distant land, searching…" Link paused taking in Lulu's face which was showing concern for him, "This boy had a bit of power and he stopped the moon from falling. He also found Mikau, who was dying, and tried to heal him."

"Mikau? You're fine now, did that really happen?" Lulu asked, becoming increasingly concerned. Speaking in third person would seem odd.

Link took out Mikau's guitar and began to slowly play the song of healing on it. It helped him and it seemed to soothe Lulu. Her eyes were closed and she quietly sang along. Link looked over at Mikau's grave and thought he could see a ghost above it.

When he stopped playing he began to speak again, "Mikau died. But he gave the boy his powers so that he could defeat a great evil. I'm not Mikau... but he gave me his mask." Link couldn't look at her.

"No! You're Mikau! You're not dead! Stop it!" Lulu screamed looking terrified and confused at what he was saying.

"Follow me" Link replied quietly, feeling horrible. He knew this would hurt her. He dived into the sea again, swam to the shore and walked over to Mikau's grave. Lulu had followed him, fortunately. Now he would have to break any trust she still had for him but he had to explain this and words failed him.

"Mikau? Mikau…" She stared at the grave for several moments before collapsing in front of it. He couldn't know what she was feeling at that moment.

Link stood awkwardly to the side, randomly destroying any monsters who came near them, not sure what to say or do. He thought he could hear her sobbing.

Eventually Lulu stood up, walked over to him and stared up into his eyes, she looked terrible with sand on her wet face and yet she glared at him with anger.

"Who are you… really?" As Link hesitated she continued angrily, "tell me!"

"I found Mikau dying and he asked me to help you. I used his spirit and did. I helped everyone," Link replied awkwardly, hoping he sounded honest.

"So you stole Mikau's spirit?" Lulu accused, glaring at him, she didn't appear to be thinking straight.

"He asked me to help." It sounded like an excuse. "I did save your eggs and now they've hatched, I- I'm sorry, Lulu," Link said. What else could he say right now?

"Yes." She paused, "So who are you? Why do you look so much like my husband?" Lulu asked, now sounding sad and tired. Link wasn't great at reading Zora's faces yet but she seemed pale, her cheeks were still wet.

"It's a mask," Link replied, looking down.

"Then show me your true face."

"No! I can't- It's not my real face!" Link didn't know what he was saying. He didn't want Lulu to see him as only a twelve-year-old boy. He used to be seventeen after all. Two years ago he had been seventeen and now he was twelve. His head hurt just thinking about it, his life seemed so messed up; sometimes he wished he could be someone else. Someone like Mikau.

"Why are you hiding? I must see you," Lulu insisted, sounding desperate.

"How old are you? How old is… was Mikau?" Link asked, trying to delay.

"We were both twenty," Lulu said and closed her eyes tightly as if in pain. "Please…"

"I don't know how old I am. I used to be seventeen but now-" Link couldn't finish. He then took off the mask.

As always it felt odd taking off the mask, a little painful but it wasn't bad. It seemed to leave him with an empty feeling though. He guessed that's what it felt like to lose one's soul. Lulu jumped back in shock, taking in his new face. He was much shorter now, about a head shorter than her. He watched her carefully, but her expression was unreadable.

"What's your real name?" Lulu asked after a long pause. She seemed to be taking this rather well all things considered; she hadn't run away or screamed and she was speaking again after all. But she couldn't be pleased to see a human boy in place of her lover.

"Link, I'm a Hylian," He replied.

"Link… you said you used to be seventeen?" Lulu asked, she actually sounded rather curious.

"Yes. I helped save Hyrule from an evil sorcerer, Ganondoth. He stole a precious item from the Temple of time, I got sealed in there for seven years so when I came out, I was seventeen. But there was a way to reverse it. I was ten again. That was two years ago. Since then we found a way to stop Ganondoth early so he was defeated years earlier. I'm the only one who remembers that time now. Time was sort of… altered, changed," Link explained as briefly as possible, hoping she would get it.

"You toy with time as well as identities? But you save people? Could you prove any of it?" Lulu asked unhappily.

"Yes! I've shown you the magical mask. I can't show you my past but I can alter time a bit." Link said, excited at an idea, "just grab my arm and I'll play the song of double time, it's around midday right now, this'll make it night."

Lulu did take his arm hesitantly as Link got out his ocarina and began playing.

That's the first chapter and I'm planning this to be several chapters long. Please give me some feedback on it.


	2. Confusion

**Alright here's chapter 2, it's in Lulu's point of view this time.**

* * *

Lulu's head hurt.

She wasn't sure if it was through apparently travelling through time or because there was a boy impersonating her lover Mikau who had apparently been dead for a few weeks; this boy had apparently stopped the moon falling and yet was only a twelve-year-old human.

The boy, Link seemed to be able to do some sort of magic though, She had felt it surround them just for a moment before they reappeared in the same place, at night.

"It's night," the boy said to her. He was looking at her hand, which was still clutching his arm, she hastily let go and took a step away from him.

"I should go," Lulu said, running into the water. She couldn't think right now, her mind was a jumble of emotion: anger, despair, shock, sadness, confusion. She needed to think alone for a while.

Then she heard someone screaming in pain. Lulu turned around in horror as she watched Link. His eyes appeared to be black and looked huge. The rest of his body appeared to be twisting and growing as well, was that the sound of bones cracking? His screams told her how much it hurt. Then as suddenly as it started, he stopped screaming and got up from where he had fallen, now looking just like Mikau.

That was how the masks worked? Why would he want to turn into Mikau anyway? He hardly seemed to care about himself though, he was walking into the water too, not looking at all hurt. He smiled slightly at her as he walked past, he did seem tired though.

"I'm fine, I'll be in my- Mikau's room in zora hall if you… bye Lulu," he said, before diving into the water and swimming away.

Lulu stood there, frozen; she tried not to think about Link's screams. That was horrible. All that to impersonate Mikau. She didn't suppose he had shown anyone else who he really was either. Lulu couldn't feel angry at him just now though, not after those screams.

Lulu was brought out of her thoughts as one of those annoying sand monsters rammed into her. Startled, she looked around and remembered how she was going back to her home. She swiftly swam back, feeling sick; her head was still aching.

"Lulu? Woah, you alright?" Someone asked her as she arrived at zora hall and was walking to her room. She looked over at Japas, the bass guitarist for the band; he was looking at her in concern.

"What? I'm fine," she replied, resisting the urge to start rubbing her eyes. What did she look like?

"You're bleeding," he said, gesturing towards her face.

For the first time she noticed a dull pain near her left eye; she supposed she might have gotten scratched while she had been swimming back. She couldn't bring herself to care about it at the moment however; what was one scratch compared to Mikau being dead? Dead; leaving her alone with Link to raise seven children- her children. She'd forgotten them today. Lulu, at that thought, felt her eyes watering not for the first time today.

"I- I'm fine. It's just a scratch, uh- bye!" Lulu hurriedly replied, keeping her head down, hoping he wouldn't notice anything else strange about her appearance as she ran into her room where she could be alone.

She was sure that she could feel Japas eyes watching her as she scared the young zora who had been trying to creep into her room before slamming the door of her room. Her eyes stung. She was allowed to forget her children when her love has been replaced by a human boy, right? Right?

Lulu became distracted by an irritating pain from that cut, looking in a mirror she found a surprisingly large amount of blood on her face considering, as she had thought, that the cut was only small. She sighed. After washing her face she climbed into her bed, to sleep.

She could only hope her head would stop hurting in the morning.

The next day Lulu was staring at the sea outside zora hall.

The events that had happened here several days ago made much more sense now. Link had known some sort of magical song that gave Lulu her voice back. Her singing had awakened some sort of protector. Link had then taken off his mask and used some sort of weapon to get onto his back and was taken to the Great bay temple. Then Link had defeated the monster inside.

Had her really defeated many huge monsters? He seemed sincere and had magical tools but… he also seemed very secretive if he had kept Mikau's death a secret from her for so long, she couldn't trust him.

"Lulu," Mikau's voice said next to her. She jumped at the sound, not expecting anyone to come out here.

She turned to face him. He looked so much like Mikau, it was unbearable. He seemed uneasy.

"Take off that mask,"

"… Okay," he replied after a long pause.

It was interesting watching him take off the mask, his whole body glowed blue for a second where the only thing you could really see was the mask held in front of him. Then the glow faded and he was in the body of a boy, holding that mask.

"So, I have to leave in a few days," Link said.

"What? You're leaving?" Lulu said, feeling surprised and rather hurt by the news. Then she felt angry at herself; had she expected Link to stay with her?

"Yes, I'm going back to Hyrule, I only really came for the carnival" he replied, looking sad for some reason.

"Alright then." Lulu paused and then thought of something, "Have you told the others of M-Mikau's death?" She found it hard to say his name.

Link looked down at this, "I-I can't, Mikau will just disappear and then they'll find his g-grave and know died," He sounded rather scared.

"You need to."

"I can't."

Lulu felt herself becoming angry at this boy, maybe she had been angry yesterday too; he had pretended to be her lover for days before telling her that Mikau had died. Now he was acting too scared to tell everyone this. He also had her believe that he had saved the whole of Termina.

She walked angrily towards him and briefly considered slapping him or perhaps shaking him; instead she simply glared and said viciously, "you have to tell everyone the truth, they deserve to hear it! If you don't I'll have to do it instead."

Then Lulu turned and walked away from him, staring at the sea. Maybe she was being too harsh to him but he couldn't just disappear without a word.

"Wait, Lulu. I'll consider telling the other band members, would that be enough?" Link said behind her.

Lulu sighed, she couldn't really ask for much more than that. Someone else would know at least. She turned back to him, part of her wishing he would just leave; he was always going to be a painful reminder of Mikau.

"You have a cut on your face," Link said, as he watched her, when it was clear she wasn't going to reply.

"It just a tiny scratch!" It was nothing.

"Are you alright?" he replied, he wasn't asking about the insignificant scratch anymore. Lulu didn't really know how to respond.

"I'm fine," she said, not feeling up to explaining the mass of raw emotions going through her.

"I suppose you can just tell the band member, for now."

Surprisingly, Link smiled at her and took out his instrument again, some sort of flute. He played that same song he had played yesterday on Mikau's guitar though Lulu did not feel inclined to hum along with it.

As he played Lulu began to feel more relaxed, it was… soothing. He had been playing for a few minutes until Lulu spoke again. She was rather curious about these magical songs.

"What's that song called… and the instrument?"

He stopped playing. "This is an ocarina. That was the song of healing, it's my favourite song," he replied.

"It heals…?"

"The soul, it can mend broken spirits and bind them into to masks," he said hesitantly.

"Oh… like Mikau" She said sadly, feeling rather sick, despite the song.

Soon after that, the boy left her alone again, to dwell on her thoughts.

* * *

**So what did you think? Does Lulu's character sound alright? Of course she's rather lost right now.**


	3. Truth

**So chapter 3 , I'm not sure about this one so I hope it sounds alright.**

* * *

Link considered the idea of telling everyone about Mikau's death; it didn't appeal to him. Telling them meant showing his real face to him and his real face was a human boy. In his opinion, it would be easier for everyone if he just left and they discovered the grave.

Then there was Lulu. He had told her the truth and she'd accepted it, then she had essentially commanded him to tell the whole world his secrets; that was what it felt like anyway. Not that it sounded like a too unreasonable request; he would just have to do it quickly and then leave immediately.

Link had already decided to leave in early in the morning, two days from now, but he supposed he could just leave tonight He'd tell them the truth and then leave Termina forever; it could be so easy. He would never see any of them ever again.

And that scared him…

Link looked around him; he had been swimming aimlessly for the last hour, thinking about what Lulu had said to him earlier. He was by the waterfall where the beavers' had raced him for a bottle; maybe they'd race him again now.

Making up his mind, Link took off his mask once again, felt the strange feeling of losing a soul, and put the mask away. He then too out his hook shot and used it to climb up the waterfall; it was fortunate that there were things to target to get up there. The feeling of using his hook shot was interesting though sometimes unpleasant; it felt like something was pulling him into the air and was too strong to resist, which was mostly what was happening.

He entered the river rapids swiftly and put on the mask again, trying very hard not to scream in pain as his body began morphing. The pain soon went away and he dived into the cool water where a beaver greeted him.

"Hey, what are you doing here? You've already stolen our bottle."

"I needed it. Want another race?" Link replied, straight to the point.

"You want to race now? Well I don't have anything else to give you!" The beaver replied sounding surprisingly angry.

"I don't want anything, this could just be a race for fun?" He said.

"Well… if I win you have to give back the bottle and we're going there and back three times, alright?" The beaver replied, keen to race again.

Link nodded in reply and was soon speeding through the water. It was a tough race but he was at this moment a zora and could swim for a long time though not at this speed. He had wanted to race to get his mind off telling the others for a while. It wasn't quite working but at least he now had a nice idea of persuading some zora to race him in the river back at Hyrule. Maybe Lulu would like racing.

Link concentrated on the race again when that beaver passed him, remembering his bottle was at stake. He put all his efforts into catching up to the beaver once again but was having a tough time at it That beaver was quick. He was level with him now but fast running out of energy, half a lap to go now.

His arms were aching now, but was gratified to see the beaver just as tired as he was, he put on a burst of speed and managed to finish ahead. He felt relieved about keeping the bottle. The beaver seemed pretty annoyed and swam off somewhere.

Link left the rapids once he had rested and was soon heading back to the zora hall. His good mood from winning the race lasted right up until he clambered onto land and caught sight of Lulu staring into space.

He remembered how he had talk to the rest of the band. But first he had to ask her something. Link walked up to her and examined her face, she was looking at him silently. Her face seemed rather grey and the expression in her eyes seemed sad and weary. She had a dark cut on her face; she had looked so happy yesterday.

"Hey there, how are you?" He greeted her.

"Fine," she replied. It seemed like she didn't want to have a conversation.

Link pushed on, regardless, "so, I was wondering if you'd like to come to Hyrule with me, just to… get your mind off things?"

"Travelling with you, to get my mind off things?" She repeated, clearly implying that his presence would do the opposite of getting her mind off things.

She had a point, as well. "Travelling might help! A new area with new people to talk to, would you consider?" He said. He disliked travelling alone and seeing as how he hadn't found Navi and Tatl was staying here, a person would be great company. He wasn't sure that anyone else in Termina would be interested either though.

"I can't. I have children to take care of ," She replied, smoothly.

"Not for the next five days, they'll be in that tank."

"…Why?" She said after a pause.

"I just want company, it's lonesome… being alone. Also I'd like you to see Hyrule for yourself, you may like it there after all," He said hoping that was what she meant.

"Yes, being alone is lonesome." She said, turning away from him and looking out at the sea again.

"So you'll consider? It's just for a few days, I'll have to leave soon though."

"Yes. Why are you leaving now?" She said, still not looking at him.

He realized he was still wearing the zora mask. "I promised a… friend, I would. I can't stay either." He said, not sure about his relationship with Zelda right now, she didn't remember becoming sheik or anything else from the strange future.

"Ok then, just… tell the others before you leave, alright?" She was walking away now, thinking deeply about something.

Link waited a few moments before entering Zora hall, he saw Lulu entering her room. He decided to tell each member separately, and began planning just what he would say.

* * *

It was an hour later when Link finally entered Evan the band leader's room, having decided to tell him first; he already knew about Mikau going in search for the eggs so hopefully he'd be easy to convince. Evan was sitting in front of his instrument, which Link was pretty sure was a piano, reading something.

He looked up when Link entered and greeted him cheerfully, "Hey there, how's it going, Mikau? And how are the guppies doing?"

Link stood there dumbly before realizing he was asking about Lulu's children. 'Must be a zora expression' he thought.

Link walked over to Evan and quickly replied, "they're fine but… You know the great bay temple?"

"Yes, you were great at destroying the monster or so Lulu tells me, it's gone right? Evan said, looking quite worried.

Link briefly wondered how much Lulu had told the others about it, all she had seen was the turtle appearing. "See the thing is… Mikau didn't survive long enough to defeat the monster. He died."

Evan looked completely confused not that he was surprised, he elaborated, "I am not Mikau. This is a magical mask. Mikau… the real Mikau is dead."

Evan, unsurprisingly, was still looking sceptical, "You're not Mikau…you just look exactly like him. Have you been injured recently at all?"

"It's a mask! It's only a mask! I can take it off, I've already told Lulu about it and she's… quite upset," Link replied rather sharply but hoping that Evan would get it quickly.

"Well! If you're sure then you'll have to take it off won't you?" Evan said, clearly not believing a word he said but look very concerned about him.

A minute passed where Link stared at the band leader, reluctant to take off the mask as he had been with Lulu; then he grabbed his face and pulled the mask off. Link felt that strange sensation of losing Mikau's spirit once again as his body began morphing .

When the transformation ended, Link looked up into Evan's eyes, now much shorter. Evan looked shocked and rather distressed. Link slowly turned around and began walking out, not sure what else to say.

"Who are you?" Evan's voice came from behind him, it sounded shaky.

Link didn't turn around, he didn't wanted to see Evan's face. He quickly said, "I'm Link, I found Mikau as he was dying and got his mask. With that I was able to save the temple and Lulu's eggs. But I'm leaving tonight anyway."

With that Link fled from the room, hoping that would satisfy him ,though doubting it. Link hadn't enjoyed saying that script but was glad he had said it now. It was good to know that Evan would see who he really was and not simply the mask. Of course he was leaving soon anyway.

Before he could decide against it, Link hurried over to Japas's room, he swiftly persuaded the guard to move by mentioning a message he had to pass on and how he had just left the band leader's room.

Japas's room was large and had a sandy floor that was rather tough to walk on. Link crossed the room without too much trouble and stood in front of Japas, who staring at him in confusion. He was holding his guitar so he had probably just been practicing before Link had entered.

Link, almost reluctantly put on the zora mask. He tried to resist screaming but the pain was so intense as his body began twisting and growing , he was now screaming into Japas face, wishing it would end. It did end soon enough and the pain evaporated as if it had never existed.

Japas was staring at him in horror; he had taken a few steps back and was breathing rather deeply, he had dropped his guitar on the ground next to him.

"What are- who… M-Mikau?" He stuttered.

"Mikau's dead, that was just his mask, go ask Lulu more about it" he replied, already leaving. That counted as telling him, right?

Link told their drummer more or less the same thing, it was quick and that was good. Now he could leave for Hyrule, finally, all he had to do now was speak to Lulu one more time.

**That's the chapter! Well I'd love if you reviewed it, thanks!**


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